Hugh Lofting’s character, Dr. Dolittle, might not be so far-fetched. Research at the University of Sydney has shown that cows maintain individual voices in a variety of emotional situations. Cows ‘talk’ to one another and retain individual identity through their lowing.
We found that cattle vocal individuality is relatively stable across different emotionally loaded farming contexts” – Alexandra Green, researcher
Source: The Bullvine, December 23, 2019. Link. “Cows are gregarious, social animals. In one sense it isn’t surprising they assert their individual identity throughout their life and not just during mother-calf imprinting” said Green. “But this is the first time we have been able to analyze voice to have conclusive evidence of this trait”.
Also see: Vocal individuality of Holstein-Friesian cattle is maintained across putatively positive and negative farming contexts, Nature.com, December 5, 2019. Link. Research paper.
INSIGHTS: Green postulates that monitoring the emotional state of cattle can improve animal welfare.
Before you scoff, consider all the recent negative press about dairies. Maybe sound monitoring isn’t a bad idea after all. Cows are less likely to be housed within earshot today like they were 20 years ago. Over time, technology may normalize sounds giving us the equivalent of a baby monitor for lowing.